The old Electric Park post card of 1908 pictures one of the popular rides at the park. Shown are the chutes which were at the end of a roller coaster ride.

Electric Park was opened May 19, 1907, to a crowd of 53,000, by its owners, J.J., Mike and Ferdinand Heim, who also owned the Heim Brewery. But no beer was sold at the park, because of a city ordinance.

In the background is the great horseshoe-shaped arcade with its many entrances to various concessions. In the center were beautifully landscaped flower beds, grassy lawns and benches.

The circular structure at lake's edge near the center of the picture was the setting for the night spectacle, Living Statuary, at the fountain, probably the most widely known and remembered feature of the park.

Here, beautiful, shapely young women on a pedestal emerged every hour of the evening (after 9), as if by magic from the fountain, and held the crowd spellbound with their graceful poses, flooded with changing lights.

The big park, which extended from 46th and the Paseo to Woodland, was built at the close of an era of kerosene and gas lights. Little wonder Kansas Citians were so impressed with the blaze of light from the park's 100,000 light bulbs outlining buildings, towers, and high rail rides. One writer called it The Great White City of Brush Creek.

A street car sign near the entrance read: Street cars every minute. The fare was five cents.

Reproduction (printing, downloading, or copying) of images from Kansas City Public Library requires permission and payment for the following uses, whether digital or print: publication; reproduction of multiple copies; personal, non-educational purposes; and advertising or commercial purposes. Please order prints or digital files and pay use fees through this website. All images must be properly credited to: "Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri." Images and texts may be reproduced without prior permission only for purposes of temporary, private study, scholarship, or research. Those using these images and texts assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and privacy that may arise.